As 2009 draws to a close, it’s a good time to review what has transpired and anticipate the year ahead. We humans seem to place particular significance in years that end in “0” which is why the advent of 2010 feels a little special. Or maybe we are anxious to leave behind some of the more tiresome issues that have occupied our attention and get on to some shiny new topics.

The economic challenges of the recent past have rekindled interest in innovation. I’m hoping that the work companies have done this year to increase their capacity to innovate will “stick.” For those brave folks, I’d like to share a list of 10 Innovation Proverbs for Leaders written by Joyce Wycoff, author and InnovationNetwork Co-Founder.

PEOPLE do innovation.

Innovation means doing something that hasn’t been done before.
By definition there is risk involved.
No risk; no innovation.

Innovation is a win-win process.
It creates new value for the customer and the organization.

Innovation is a team sport.
Teams are built around a common objective and trust.

It is a good thing that people are focused on innovation. Unfortunately, since 2000 we have passed a number of laws and regulations that are killing innovation in the US. The incredible innovation of the 90s was based on technology start-up companies built on intellectual capital, financial capital, and human capital. All three of the pillars have been under attack since 2000. Our patent laws have been weakened reducing the value of intellectual capital. Sarbanes Oxley has made it impossible to go public reducing financial capital for start-ups and the FASB rules on stock options have made it harder to attract human capital to start-ups. My forthcoming book The Decline and Fall of the American Entrepreneur: How Little Known Laws and Regulations are Killing Innovation http://www.amazon.com/Decline-Fall-American-Entrepreneur-Regulations/dp/1439261369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262124667&sr=8-1, explains these problems in more detail. For a preview see http://hallingblog.com/my-forthcoming-book-1209/

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